To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the nature of the discussions that took place between his Department and the Department of Justice and Equality that led to the establishment of a panel of barristers to assess the protected disclosures of current and former members of An Garda Síochána.

REPLY

Last year, the Department of Justice and Equality sought sanction from my Department for payment of a proposed fee structure to legal Counsel as part of a new independent panel for reviewing allegations of Garda misconduct. The correspondence from that Department noted that the Minister for Justice and Equality had decided to set up this panel to consider allegations made to the Minister for Justice and Equality under the provisions of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014.Read More

To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his views on whether permission to build permanent infrastructure for fossil fuel storage, such as the Shannon LNG project, will lock Ireland into dependence on fossil fuel imports in conflict with transition objectives; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

For WRITTEN answer on Tuesday, 5th February, 2019.

REPLY: I have announced the preparation of an All of Government Climate Action Plan which when complete will set out how we can make Ireland a leader in responding to climate change. The plan will build on existing policy and will focus action across Government in all sectors of the economy that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.Read More

QUESTION: To ask the Minister for Business; Enterprise and Innovation the steps the IDA is taking as part of its efforts to attract data centre investment to ensure that the climate effects of locating data centres here will be fully mitigated by those companies it is courting to build here in view of the goal of ramping up the construction of data centres.

REPLY

I can assure the Deputy that IDA Ireland is sensitive to the potential environmental impact of all forms of foreign direct investment (FDI).Read More